In response to pointed questions raised by two Republican candidates, Arizona Public Service, the state’s biggest electricity provider, insisted that it has not contributed to campaigns for the Corporation Commission.

Two Republican candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission are asking pointed questions to the head of Arizona Public Service, wary that the utility is secretly aiding their primary opponents in the race for seats on the regulatory agency.

The Republican primary race for the Arizona Corporation Commission became competitive last month, when former state lawmaker Lucy Mason announced she and former Paradise Valley mayor Vernon Parker would run on a slate for the two nominations.

Former Paradise Valley mayor and two-time Republican congressional candidate Vernon Parker today filed paperwork to run for the Arizona Corporation Commission, despite having raised more than $400,000 in 2013 to run against U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District.

Four bills were proposed by Democrats during the 2010 legislative session that would have revised energy-reduction deadlines and created new standards for energy consumption in state buildings, but none of them have received committee approval and appear dead for now.

Back in 2003, lawmakers passed a law that required state agencies and universities to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent by the end of 2008. The legislation had overwhelming bipartisan support, but the results were disappointing.

If you ask anyone who has worked on an issue with Rep. Lucy Mason, they'll say she is persistent and tenacious and every other synonym that "Roget's Thesaurus" lists to describe those who never give up.
The Prescott Republican is in her final term, and her tenure in the Legislature has been one of the wildest.

The fate of a bill that would delay payments to schools and universities as a deficit-closing gimmick is in question after the House of Representatives amended the measure, linking its enactment to a jobs creation and business tax cut bill that is stalled in the Senate.